How To Get Organized the Marie Kondo Way

If you’re on any social network, watch tv or listen to the news you’ve probably heard about Marie Kondo’s new Netflix series about decluttering. If you’re like some you might be throwing out, and giving away half of your household, or you’re like the other half who are sitting there completely overwhelmed at where to start. Here are a few of the key points to this revolutionary decluttering process.

Organize by Categories

When you think of organizing, many people think of going room by room. When doing so, many people get distracted by their findings and may find themselves sitting in a pile of old items with no way out. Marie Kondo suggests decluttering in categories instead of rooms. Begin with the items in your home that you have the least amount of emotional attachment. Things like clothing, extra linens, and extra kitchen supplies are all good places to start. From there move to items with more emotional attachment. When working on one category of item, clear your entire home of those items and then move onto the next.

Treat Your Items with Respect

It may sound silly to think of inanimate objects as having feelings but it can help you get your clutter under control. Look at the way your books are piled up in the corner of your dusty storage room-is that what you intended for them? Is it good for them to be covered in dust? What about your clothing? Your dress clothes are wrinkly and currently falling off the hangers in your closet. If you look really closely, your clothing probably looks less than thrilled. When you can see your items as more than just items, it will encourage you to take extra care of your belongings.

Sentimental Feelings are Your Enemy

As you work to clear the clutter in your home, you will reach a point where you come across your sentimental keepsakes. These can be tough to declutter so be sure you put your blinders on and only focus on the category or stuff, not what the letters say. Avoid re-reading any of your letters or you’ll fall straight down the rabbit hole and have an even harder time clearing them.

Remember, It Feels Good

During the course of decluttering try and reclaim your feelings of peace as you go through the process. Once you get to work, you’ll find it easier than you think to let go of those jeans you bought because they were on sale, the extra wooden spoons you just had to buy and the mountain of textbooks from college a decade ago. You’ll find that as you clear the clutter you’ll begin to feel more at peace. Going into decluttering with an open and positive mind will make the purge feel like a relief.

Fall In Love

This is one of the most significant takeaways people have had from Marie Kondo’s series. After cleaning away the clutter you’ll be able to love your home again. There is breathing room between items in your closets, you no longer have to rearrange your kitchen drawers just to open them and you’re not tripping over books or toys in your living room. Walking through your home without the clutter will give you a sense of joy and hope.

If you’ve watched the series, we’d love to hear your thoughts or experience on implementing this method!